Illustrator CS4 Shortcuts: Mac

Keyboard Shortcuts

Here are many keyboard shortcuts for Illustrator CS4, including lesser known and hidden keystrokes!

Selecting and Moving
To access Selection or Direction Selection tool (whichever was used last) at any time Cmd (Command)
To switch between Selection and Direct Selection tools Cmd-Option-Tab
To cycle through tools behind column tool Option-click tool
To make copy while dragging Option
To add to a selection Shift
Move Selection Any arrow key
Move Selection 10 pts Shift-any arrow key
Lock selected artwork Cmd-2
Lock all deselected artwork Cmd-Option-Shift-2
Unlock all artwork Cmd-Option-2
Hide selected artwork Cmd-3
Hide all deselected artwork Cmd-Option-Shift-3
Show all artwork Cmd-Option-3
Path Editing
Join and Average at same time Cmd-Option-Shift-J
Convert Anchor Point tool from Pen tool Option
Switch between Add Anchor Point and Delete Anchor Point tools Option
Add Anchor Point tool from Scissors tool Option
Move anchor point while drawing with Pen tool Spacebar
Create closed path with Pencil or Paintbrush tool When finished drawing, hold Option and release mouse
Connect to an open (& selected) path with Pencil Cmd-drag
Painting and Transforming
Eyedropper tool from Live Paint Bucket tool Option
Samples intermediate color from gradient, picture, etc. with eyedropper Shift
Sets center point and shows dialog Option-click with Tool
Duplicates and transforms selection Option-drag
Transform pattern without transforming object Tilde(~)-drag
Scale proportionally with Selection tool Shift-drag bounding box
Scale from center with Selection tool Option-drag bounding box
Move mesh point along path with Mesh tool Shift-drag
Add mesh point with Mesh tool without changing color Shift-click
Remove mesh point with Mesh tool Option-click
Shapes (While Drawing)
Draw from center Option
Draw from center with dialog Option-click
Constrain proportion Shift
Constrain orientation of polygons, stars, spirals Shift
Move object while drawing Spacebar
Add/subtract sides, points, spiral segments Up or Down Arrow
Decrease inner radius Cmd
Create Continuous duplicates along mouse movement Hold tilde(~) while Dragging
Viewing & Guides
Get Hand Tool (while NOT editing Type) Spacebar
Get Hand Tool (while editing Type) Hold Cmd, then Space. Then continue holding Space but let go of Cmd
Zoom In Tool Cmd-Spacebar
Zoom Out Tool Cmd-Option-Spacebar
Zoom In to exact size Cmd-Spacebar-drag
Hide/Show all tools and panels Tab
Hide/Show all panels except toolbox Shift-Tab
Switch between horizontal/vertical guide Hold Option while dragging out a new guide
Release Guide (turns it into a regular path) Cmd-Shift-double-click
Type
Decrease/Increase type size Cmd-Shift-< or >
Decrease/Increase leading Option arrow up or down
Decrease/Increase kerning/tracking Option arrow left or right
Kerning/tracking x 5 Cmd-Option arrow left or right
Decrease/Increase baseline shift Shift-Option arrow down or up
Baseline shift x 5 Cmd-Option-Shift arrow down or up
Align type left, right, center Cmd-Shift-L, R, C
Justify with last line left aligned Cmd-Shift-J
Justify all line Cmd-Shift-F
Reset horizontal/vertical scale to 100% Cmd-Shift-X
Reset kerning or tracking to 0 Cmd-Option-Q
Palette Shortcuts / Function Keys
Show/Hide Brushes F5
Show/Hide Color F6
Show/Hide Layers F7
Show/Hide Info Cmd-F8
Show/Hide Gradient Cmd-F9
Show/Hide Stroke Cmd-F10
Show/Hide Attributes Cmd-F11
Revert file F12
Show/Hide Graphic Styles Shift-F5
Show/Hide Appearance Shift-F6
Show/Hide Align Shift-F7
Show/Hide Transform Shift-F8
Show/Hide Pathfinder Shift-Cmd-F9
Show/Hide Transparency Shift-Cmd-F10
Show/Hide Symbols Shift-Cmd-F11
Layers Palette Shortcuts
Toggle layer between Preview/Outline mode Cmd-click on eye
Show layer while turning off all others Option-click on eye
Select all items on layer Option-click layer name
Copy selected item to different layer Option-drag selection square in Layers panel
To create the new layer at the top of list Cmd-click
To create the new layer below selected layer Cmd-Option-click
Color Palette Shortcuts
Saturate/Desaturate current color Shift-drag color slider
Change Color Mode Shift-click color bar
Select compliment of current color Cmd-click color bar
Swatches Palette Shortcuts
Create a swatch as a global color Hold Cmd-Shift while creating
Replace a swatch with another Option-drag new swatch over old
Misc.
(In any panel) Apply a value, but keep value highlighted in panel Shift-Return
Create New Symbol F8
Tools
V Selection
A Direct Selection
Y Magic Wand
Q Lasso
P Pen
+ Add Anchor point
- Delete Anchor point
Shift-C Convert Anchor point
T Type
\ Line Segment
M Rectangle
L Ellipse
B Paintbrush
N Pencil
Shift-B Blob Brush
Shift-E Eraser
C Scissors
R Rotate
O Reflect
S Scale
Shift-R Warp
E Free Transform
Shift-S Symbol Sprayer
J Column Graph
U Mesh
G Gradient
I Eyedropper
W Blend
K Live Paint Bucket
Shift-L Live Paint Selection
Shift-O Artboard Tool
Shift-K Slice
H Hand
Z Zoom
X Toggle between Fill & Stroke
Shift-X Swap Fill & Stroke
D Default Fill & Stroke (white fill/black stroke)
< Fill or Stroke w/Color
> Fill or Stroke w/Gradient
/ Fill or Stroke w/None
F Cycle through Screen Modes
Double-click tools to bring up options.
Press CAPS LOCK to change tool pointer to cross hair.
Hold down Shift to constrain movement to 45°, 90°, 135°, or 180°.
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